Victory Avenue follows Mage’s path in Kentucky Derby quest

In his quest to catch lightning in a bottle twice, Gustavo Delgado is pointing Victory Avenue along the uncommon path that took the trainer to a Kentucky Derby upset with Mage last year.

Mage made a winning debut as part of the Pegasus World Cup undercard last Jan. 28 and went on to finish fourth in the Fountain of Youth and second in the Florida Derby before providing Delgado with a triumph that made him the toast of his native Venezuela.

Victory Avenue made his first start on the Jan. 27 Pegasus undercard and finished second to Speak Easy in a race that bodes well for both juveniles. Co-owner Ramiro Restrepo, the bloodstock adviser behind Mage and Victory Avenue, said the effort was so promising that they will advance to the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth on March 2 at their Gulfstream Park home base.

“It just made total sense to take the shot,” said Restrepo. “I don’t see anything negative behind it. The horse is doing really well, which is the most important thing.”

According to Equibase, the dark bay son of the late Arrogate registered his longest workout to date when he traveled six furlongs in 1:16.06 on Feb. 17 at Gulfstream as Delgado prepared him for the jump from his seven-furlong bow to the Fountain of Youth. The 1 1/16-mile contest offers Derby qualifying points to the top five finishers on a 50-25-15-10-5 basis. The Florida Derby (G1) will conclude the prep races in that state on March 30.

Restrepo emphasized that the connections were more encouraged than anything by Victory Avenue’s first start, even if Speak Easy overtook him by 1 3/4 lengths. He pointed to the sharp final time of 1:21.96, the 97 Beyer Speed Figure awarded to the runner-up  by Daily Racing Form and the 3 3/4-length gap that separated their horse from third-place Big City.

“The horse is ready to move forward, and he ran a winning race,” Restrepo said of the April 15 foal. “You compare that maiden race to every other maiden race at Gulfstream and, other than that day, he gave a winning performance.”

To compare, Mage completed the same distance in 1:22.54 when he rolled by 3 3/4 lengths in a debut that many thought was too late to make him a serious Derby candidate. But the Good Magic colt earned 10 qualifying points in coming in fourth to Forte in the Fountain of Youth, took second to that rival in the Florida Derby and benefitted when Forte was scratched on Derby morning with a bruised right front hoof. Mage delivered at 15-1 for Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano, who had failed in 15 previous tries in the nation’s premier race, underscoring how improbable racing can be.

High hopes have surrounded Victory Avenue almost from the time Restrepo’s Marquee Bloodstock purchased him for $375,000 as a 2-year-old in training. Like Mage, also acquired at 2, Delgado opted not to race him that season and instead gave him invaluable time to develop.

Victory Avenue’s inexperience showed in his debut, but so did his potential to be a juvenile capable of competing at classic distances. Although he broke in, jockey Luis Saez quickly guided him to the front. While under pressure from Speak Easy, a Todd Pletcher trainee masterfully ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., he took the field of 11 through an opening quarter-mile in 22.64 seconds and an opening half in 44.61 seconds. He gave Speak Easy all he could handle before the Constitution colt edged clear in the final furlong.

With Saez committed to Dornoch, winner of the Dec. 2 Remsen (G2) at Aqueduct, a new rider must be found for Victory Avenue for the Fountain of Youth. A replacement is expected to be named shortly.

For Speak Easy's next start, the Fountain of Youth and the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) are under consideration.